


Mercury

by immistermercury



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Afterlife, Fluff and Angst, M/M, freddie is already dead, freddie is there when jim wakes up in the afterlife, it has a very happy ending though, jim talks to freddie about his cancer diagnosis, like very happy, they're so in love, this is a bit of a sad one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immistermercury/pseuds/immistermercury
Summary: “I always wondered why you chose the name Mercury.” He said softly. “I didn’t have much to do today, so I looked it up. Mercury, god of thieves, tricksters and eloquence, among other things.” He laughed a little; Delilah purred against his chest. “But it also says that he guides souls to the afterlife. He isn't there to judge, but he acts as an impartial guide to wherever you’re going next.“I hope you’re doing that now. I always wonder how you kill the time.” He smiled softly. “I’d like you to be there when I pass through. I’m so scared, Fred, it’d be nice to have a familiar face.”





	Mercury

Jim sat himself down by the yellow freesias in the garden; his hands were shaking. He always came to talk to Freddie in this spot, one that seemed to preserve his energy in a way that the rest of Garden Lodge hadn’t. He’d never been a fan of the colour yellow until he’d met Freddie, but he’d come to understand why it suited Freddie so well: it was bright, happy, it stood out in a bunch of flowers, it made him stand out onstage. 

 

“Good evening, my love.” Jim said quietly, picking one of the flowers and twirling it around his fingers. He wasn’t sure when he’d started talking to Freddie, but he liked to think that he listened, that he was interested in whatever Jim was doing from his little place in Heaven. Jim liked to think that Freddie was keeping a side of the bed warm for him.

 

“I got my diagnosis today.” He smoothed a thumb over a petal. “You might already know, I’m not sure. I wanted to tell you myself.” He glanced up at the night sky. “It’s not AIDS, thankfully, but it is cancer. Lung cancer. I guess it’s penitence for all those cigarettes we shared in bed.” His laugh was weak.

 

“I think that maybe I understand you better now. I never knew what it was like to know that you were going to die, and now I do. I’m still amazed by how well you took it.” He held the flower close to his face. “I’m going to suffocate to death. I’m terrified.” He wiped his eyes quickly with the heels of his hands. “I guess you know what that’s like. It was the pneumonia that took you.”

 

He paused to glance over the garden, looking into the dark windows of the house. He shivered and pulled Freddie’s jacket closer around him. “I don’t think I’m going to get treatment for it. That means I’ve only got about three months left.” The wind whistled, and he almost smiled; he liked to imagine that it was Freddie trying to communicate. “I know, I know. You’d kick my ass if you were here.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know, earth is pretty lonely at the best of times. Your friends are great, but they’ve got their own things going on. Most of my friends are gone now. I’m excited to see you again.”

 

His voice was so vulnerable. “I think I’m going to move back to Ireland. London just makes me think of death now.” He admitted. “It makes me think of the fucking awful way that they treated you. They harassed you through until your last day, you know? You were practically blind, you couldn’t stand up, and they tried to get photos of you to sell to the fucking papers.” He ran a hand through his hair. “If I go back to Carlow, I’ve got family there. I don’t want to spend my time being anonymous anymore.”

 

Delilah walked out into the garden, coming over and nudging at Jim’s hand. “Freddie sent you, hey?” He asked softly, picking the cat up and cradling her close. “He knows me too well.”

 

He held Delilah for a long time, watching the moon edge across the sky. “I always wondered why you chose the name Mercury.” He said softly. “I didn’t have much to do today, so I looked it up. Mercury, god of thieves, tricksters and eloquence, among other things.” He laughed a little; Delilah purred against his chest. “But it also says that he guides souls to the afterlife. He isn't there to judge, but he acts as an impartial guide to wherever you’re going next.

 

“I hope you’re doing that now. I always wonder how you kill the time.” He smiled softly. “I’d like you to be there when I pass through. I’m so scared, Fred, it’d be nice to have a familiar face.”

 

\---

 

Death was a haze; a haze of pain, of struggling for breath, of coughing so desperately for air that he couldn’t seem to get. The feeling was excruciating, made him panic, hands making fists in bedsheets that were so scratchy compared to what he had at home. He was vaguely aware of the turn of the new year, recognising the cheering from elsewhere in the hospital as his eyes faded closed for the final time.

 

Mercury. Carried a cockerel, heralder of the new day.

 

He woke up in the same place, but the pain in his lungs was gone. The hospital was quiet, the same quiet as it had at three in the morning, and calm. He moved to sit up slowly, rubbing his eyes roughly with the heels of his hands: he still had his pyjamas on, the hospital tag around his wrist, the cannula in the back of his hand that had delivered his final sedatives. He glanced over his hands quickly, recognising that they had lost many of their wrinkles, lost so much of the signs of working his whole life.

 

As he shifted again, he realised that he was pinned down on one side. He turned his head, and his chest bloomed with emotion.

 

Freddie Mercury was fast asleep against his side, looking as good as he did on that first night they’d spent together. There was an arm - toned, strong, no characteristic weakness from his illness - thrown over Jim’s middle, a cold nose tucked against his side. His skin was smooth, soft, none of the lesions that had overpowered him. His hair was soft, that unkempt length between buzzed short and obviously grown out, the way that he so often had it before Jim had subjected it to regular haircuts.

 

Jim pulled Freddie closer, taking in that scent that he’d become so accustomed to for years, the scent that he had clung to every time it had come to him from bed-sheets or an old jumper. The time he had stopped loving Garden Lodge was when it had lost that smell; cigarette smoke, cologne, tea, shampoo, floral soap. He felt the warmth of his skin under his fingers, so different from how cold he was in his final days. He rested his face in Freddie’s hair, letting it tickle his skin in a way that used to drive him insane. 

 

“You’re awake.” Freddie murmured, and it was all that it took for Jim to burst into tears. He held him so closely, resting his head against Freddie’s shoulder; all his life he’d taken him for granted, and now he was back again. “Darling, don’t cry.” He said softly, carefully tilting Jim’s chin so he could press a chaste kiss to his lips. “Although, I’m being a hypocrite. I cried when I finally heard that you were here, and then again when I came in here.” He smiled lightly. “I’m technically not supposed to be in here with you, but you just felt so cold. I couldn’t stop myself.”

 

Jim pressed another kiss to his lips, letting his hands run over his husband’s body. “Freddie-” He said softly. “Freddie, you’re here-”

 

“I’m here.” Freddie echoed, brushing a stray hair from Jim’s face. “I’m here, darling, I’m never going again.”

 

“I missed you so much.” Jim admitted, finally letting himself pull away to look over him again. “God, you look so good and I’m an old man now.” He let out a wet laugh as Freddie wiped his lover’s eyes. 

 

“Not so fast.” He smiled softly. “You haven’t seen yourself in a mirror yet.” He ghosted a kiss to Jim’s neck. “How about we get out of here and I can show you?”

 

He grabbed a bag from the side of the bed and handed it to Jim; a pair of jeans and his favourite shirt, one he’d stolen from Freddie back in ‘86. “This won’t fit me anymore.” He said dubiously, glancing over at his boyfriend.

 

“Trust me.” Freddie replied, hopping off the bed quickly. “Are you going to be shy about changing, or are you going to remember that we lived together for six years?”

 

Jim cast him a look, playful yet doubtful, and got down from the bed. He changed quickly, taking the time to cast glances over his body. “You’re freaking me out now.” He told Freddie, who quickly grabbed a mirror from the side. 

 

Looking back at him was the Jim from that night in Heaven, back in 1985 when he’d bought Freddie a drink using the last of his money. He touched his face gingerly. “What the fuck?” He asked, but he was laughing.

 

Freddie laughed with him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “They work miracles. I hardly look as bad as I did the last time you saw me.” He grinned and pressed a kiss to Jim’s lips. “Now come along, you have to see what I’ve had done at Garden Lodge. And you know, Romeo scratches at your studio door all the time. He’s simply dying to see you.”

 

Jim wrapped an arm around Freddie’s shoulders, finding comfort in being so close to his lover. “What am I going to do with you, Mr. Mercury?” He asked playfully.

 

“Love me and cherish me forever?” Freddie asked with a playful grin, running a hand over Jim’s bicep and squeezing lightly. 

 

“I think that can be arranged.” Jim smiled, leaning his head against Freddie’s as he stole a final kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in the works for a while now - I hope you enjoyed! As always, drop me a comment if you did, and feel free to message me on tumblr @/immistermercury!


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